Clippers coach Doc Rivers fined $15,000 by NBA

NEW YORK -- Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Thursday for verbally abusing a game official and failing to leave the court in a timely manner after his ejection.

The incident happened with 18.6 seconds remaining in the first overtime of the Clippers' 127-122 double-overtime loss at Brooklyn on Tuesday night.Rivers was given a technical foul for crossing over midcourt, then another and ejected.

"Obviously, I should have gotten fined, just from the actions afterwards," Rivers said before Thursday night's game at Cleveland. "I had no problem with that at all. I'm good with it. I never read why they fined me. I'm completely in the dark. I just knew I got fined.

"They called me and said 15 [thousand] and before they said anything else, I said, 'Hey, thank you, no problem,'" Rivers added. "I honestly don't even know what they actually said. I'm good with it. I thought I needed to show something in that instance, probably not as much, but it's over with and we've got to get back to ball, playing good basketball would be nice."

The Clippers trailed by two late in the first OT and fouled Nets rookie Isaiah Whitehead in the backcourt after he received the inbounds pass. Rivers appeared to think Whitehead swung his elbows and should have been called for the foul, and the coach walked nearly to the Nets' bench to say something to referee Lauren Holtkamp.

Rivers said they weren't even arguing, and that Holtkamp had agreed with what Rivers said. But referee Ken Mauer, who was standing on the Clippers' side of the court, called what Rivers said was an "awful" tech.

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN's Dave McMenamin was used in this report.